Arriving in Kathmandu

Not one to escape a drama, i landed in Nepal yesterday with a rather large problem. No cash for my Visa. Yep i stupidly though there'd be banks and ATM's all over the plavce, when in actual fact there wasn't really anything. I ended up going all the way through customs (leaving my passport with the customs guys...yes dodgy but i had no choice) to an outside ATM, that didn't really work. It kept blanking out and the 'security' guard who micro managed my transaction had to go around the back of it to kick it into action?!! WTF!

So apart from that, the highlights so far are:
Crazy taxi ride with my new friends to the hotel. Hooning through the streets, dodging rickshaws, people, goats etc
The hotel/guesthouse. It's large and colonial and gated off from the madness.
Making friends with a guy i met at the airport when i was having a mare. Totally chiled me out.
Walking through the town looking at al the temples and almost getting lost while trying to navigate our way back to the hotel...
eating a mixture of seeds and popped corn with chili from the side of the rd
Having drinks in a beautiful candelit garden bar
Weird things that have happened:
The whole money debarcle
Having a little boy kiss my feet about 100 times....he wanted money
saw a man the size of a 10yr old child walking down the street carrying a fridge on his back
having one of the nicest glasses of red wine (cometothink of it maybe it was australian wine?)
For around 6hrs/day parts of Nepal have no power

Happy days though. Slept like a baby last night. The days are really warm, nights cold. Going to sort out my gear today. I can buy some awesome pants and down jackets for around 120 AUS. They are all NOrth Face rip offs but will do the job. Meetings with my group in a few hours too....hopfully i'm not stuck with a bunch of whiiiieeenning americanos.

Will have a sim card by tomorrow so will post the details then.

58 days away - Nepal and India here i come!

Today is my last day at work. Its stinking hot outside and in, the sky is blue, my workload is slowly peertering out to zilch...it is such a weird, lovely feeling knowing i'm about to go on my very own adventure and not return for 58 days! Bliss!

This coming Thursday is the day. I leave at 10.15pm for Bangkok, then a quick transfer to my first destination KATHMANDU! wooo. I looked it up on google earth last night, not quite what i expected. From what i could see (there was no street view) there's a lot of dirt roads and ruggard looking houses and shops. A bit like a shanty town, which i'm sure its not.

So, before i get there i have the next 2 days off in Sydney. I plan on picking up the last of my supplies
- needles (in case i need to get jabbed in India)
- my last Hepatitis shot from the doctor
- iodine for drinking water
- final laser hair removal (priorities i know! but once again it just makes me feel better knowing it all sorted down there)
- random traveling clothes so that i at least feel respectable and still like myself not some random tourist

Other things i need to do are, pack my bag, have numerous farewell dinners, lunches and coffees with friends.

Things I should have done more of or at all:
- wear in my hiking boots more....considering i am climbing to base camp everest...i really should have thought about this more. i hope that my feet don't die when i'm halfway up the mountain.
- save more money (everything but food, hire of extreme hiking gear has been paid for already. I have about 4K for the 2 months that i am away)
- read more about where i am going.

I'm psyched. Must go and sort out more stuff that keep popping into my head.
Will definitely to to keep this blog updated over the next 2 months. I work in the digital space, so you would think that this would be easy task... but in reality i think i get sick of being online 24/7...so we'll see. maybe i can scan in a postcard!